UN itching toward return to Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 22, 2004

UN itching toward return to Iraq

Despite US and Iraqi officials' failure to offer security guarantees and a clear mission requirement for the United Nations in Iraq, the international body is inching towards a return to Baghdad.

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Despite US and Iraqi officials' failure to offer security guarantees and a clear mission requirement for the United Nations in Iraq, the international body is inching towards a return to Baghdad.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan Monday met a delegation of the Iraqi Governing Council and top officials of the US-led coalition in Iraq's capital to discuss a possible UN role in the country.

Annan ordered all international staff to leave Iraq in October following two bomb attacks targeting UN offices in the country, one of which killed top UN envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.

But at the three-party meeting, US and Iraqi officials stopped short of offering security guarantees for UN staff and failed to provide "clarity" over what Iraq and the coalition expect of the UN.

Annan has reiterated that during Iraq's reconstruction process,the United Nations wants to provide assistance to humanitarian programs, elections and establishing a provisional government.

But the UN secretary-general says a return of the United Nations to Iraq is dependent on the organization receiving a security guarantee and a clear statement on its mission requirements in the country.

Nevertheless, analysts say signs have emerged that the United Nations is inching towards a return to Iraq with Annan softening his tone over safety concerns and technical details.

They say the UN's return is the expressed wish of the world community, not just of Britain and the United States.

Eight months have elapsed since US President George W. Bush announced end of major military operations in Iraq. But during Iraq's subsequent occupation by US-led coalition forces, security conditions in the country have worsened and sectarian haggles overpower sharing have intensified, reinforcing the world community's outcry for an early UN involvement.

The United Nations, the United States and the Iraqi Governing Council began technical discussions Monday aimed at producing a safety guarantee for a mission the UN plans to send to Baghdad within a week to assess overall security conditions for a possiblelarge-scale, permanent return of UN staff.

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